Article by Tammy Harel Ben Shahar
Three arguments are put forward in this Article to support the view that separation of children in schools according to their academic ability constitutes unlawful discrimination. The first, discussed in Part II, is the traditional argument against ability segregation that took center stage in the NYC debate--namely, that it results in racial segregation. The second legal framework suggested for challenging ability segregation is disability discrimination. The third and final legal argument is that ability should be recognized as a protected category in itself alongside the more traditional classes of race, sex, and others.
About the Author
Tammy Harel Ben Shahar. Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Haifa, Academic Director of the University of Haifa Legal Clinics. For helpful comments the author wishes to thank Yishai Blank, Yaron Covo, Adi Goldiner, Doreen Lustig, Yair Sagi, Lihi Yona, and the participants in the Tel Aviv University Public Law Workshop, in the 2021 Education Law Association conference, and in the 2021 Center for the Experimental Philosophical Study of Discrimination conference on discrimination at Aarhus University, Denmark. The research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation Grant no. 848/19.
Citation
97 Tul. L. Rev. 205